CAF Confederation Cup: Kitara coach Wasswa Busa remains confident despite first-leg defeat to Al Ahly

Kitara FC technical director Wasswa Busa remains confident his side can overturn their first-leg deficit against Al Ahly when the two teams meet in the return leg of their CAF Confederation Cup Round of 32 tie on Sunday.

The Ugandan side suffered a 2-1 defeat in the opening encounter, with Omar El-Saiy and Ahmed Sayed Zizo scoring for the Egyptian giants. However, Busa believes his players can produce an improved performance in Cairo after addressing the mistakes that contributed to their defeat.

Speaking to Kitara’s official website, the coach insisted that his squad remains determined to rise to the challenge and give their best against the former African champions.

“We have a group of players who take the challenge very seriously, and everyone was determined to play this match and give their best against Al Ahly,” he said.

Busa admitted that his team were not adequately prepared for the first leg, while an injury to Nicolas Kasuzza further affected their performance after the midfielder returned to the squad at the last minute.

“We did not reach the required level of readiness before the first leg, and despite Nicolas Kasuzzi’s return at the last minute, his injury and his exit from the field clearly affected us, and this was reflected in the team’s performance and chances in the match, which ended in our defeat,” he added.

The Kitara technical director revealed that the coaching staff had since reviewed the game with the players, identifying their shortcomings and working on solutions ahead of the decisive return fixture.

“We made sure to review what happened, and we held sessions to discuss the mistakes and identify the aspects that we did not succeed in dealing with correctly, and we worked on addressing these problems so that we can continue on the path in a better way,” Busa stated.

Despite the difficult task awaiting his team in Cairo, Busa believes their collective determination and ability to learn from setbacks could help them achieve their objectives.

“What motivates us is our belief in our ability to develop and achieve the results we aspire to. We work as a group, and we look forward to our next steps being the beginning of achieving success,” he said.

Kitara must overturn the one-goal deficit to keep their continental ambitions alive, while Al Ahly will look to capitalise on home advantage and secure qualification for the next round.

The return leg is scheduled for Sunday at Cairo International Stadium, with kick-off set for 7:00 pm.